Telephone-receiver support.



No. 757,257. PATENTED APR, 12, 1904.

. J. AEBR WN'.

TELEPHONE RECEIVER SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 8, 1903. '10 MODEL.

Inventor Attorney Witnesses UNITED STATES Patented April 12, 1904.

PATE T OFFICE.

JAMES ALEXANDER BROWN, OF WARREN, OHIO.

TELEPHONE-RECEIVER SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,257, dated April 12, 1904.

Application filed October 8, 1903. Serial No. 176,262. (No inodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES ALEXANDER BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Warren, in the county of Trumbull and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone-Receiver Supports; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in'the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to means for supporting a telephone-receiver and actuating the receiver-hook of an ordinary box-telephone to ring up central when the receiver is adjusted for use and ring off when the receiver is pushed back after use. The supporting device is designed to hold the receiver in proper position for use, so as to obviate the necessity of applying and removing the receiver to and from its hook, as well as the necessity of holding the receiver by hand in telephoning, thus relieving the user of the telephone of this often tedious operation and permitting him to have free use of both hands to takedown the message or perform other work.

The object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is simple of construction, durable, efficient, and comparatively inexpensive and which automatically releases and depresses the telephone-hook as the support is adjusted for use and restored to its normal position after use.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in 'which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the application of the invention to a telephone. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the device detached. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of a modified form of bracket.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates a telephone ofthe ordinary wall-box type, 2 its switch-hook, and 3 its receiver.

My improved supporting attachment for the receiver comprises a horizontally-arranged substantially U-shaped bracket 4:, adapted for application to the ledge5 of the box 1. In

the ordinary construction of telephone this ledge 5 is formed with a beveled edge, and in order to adapt the bracket 4 for application thereto I provide the same with projecting arms 6 and 7 which arms are ofiset or arranged to lie in different vertical planes, the arm 6 being disposed inside of the plane of the arm 7, so as to project over or beyond the upper beveled face of the ledge, and the arm 7 and base portion of the bracket being provided with perforations for the passage of screws or like fastenings 8, securing the bracket to said ledge.

From the upper portion of the body of the bracket rise ears 9, between which is pivoted the lower end of a receiver-supporting arm 10, the pivotal connection comprising an ordinary pin or bolt having a wing-nut 11, by which the arm may be clamped and held rigidly in position and released and permitted to be adjusted toward and from the box.

The arm 10 is provided at its upper end with a fork or recess 12 to receive the receiver 3, WhlCh lS confined therein by a clip 13, which is suitably secured to the arms of the fork and is provided with a set-screw 14 to bear upon the receiver and to hold the same rigidly in position. By this mode of mounting the receiver it will be seen that byswinging the arm 10 outward from and inward toward the box 1 it may be adjusted for use in convenient proximity to the mouthpiece of the box and after .use may be moved back out of the way, so as to avoid possible interference.

Projecting rearwardly from the arm 10 is an adjustable switchhook actuating device consisting of a finger 15, whichis so arranged relatively to the switch-hook 2 that when the receiver-arm 10 is pushed back to its normal position it will engage and depress said switch-hook. When the receiver-arm is drawn outward, it will release said switchhook and allow it to rise, thus actuating the said switch-hook for calling central and ringing off in the operation of the telephone. The finger is pivotally attached, by means of a pivot-pin and thumb-nut 16, to the arm 10, so that its angular position with reference to said arm may be varied to suit the relative height of the switch-hook 2.

In some cases the device may be secured upon a wall in proximity to the telephone instead of being directly mounted upon the telephone-box. In this event a modified construction of arm is employed, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The bracket here consists of a horizontal plate 4", having vertically-projecting pivoting-ears 9?. The bracket has a threaded socket l7, adapting it to receive the outer bent threaded end of a pipe or rod 18, secured by a bracket-plate 19 to the wall.

In the operation of the device the arm 10 I is pulled outward to a convenient position with relation to the mouthpiece of the box, and this operation withdraws the finger from engagement with the switch-hook 2,

the person employing the telephone to have free use of his hands for noting down the message or order and that inthe adjustment of the receiver the switch-hook is automatically operated to transmit signals.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended eXplana tion.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a box telephone provided with a ledge and a depressible switchhook, a bracket engaging said ledge, an arm pivoted to the bracket to swing in a plane at right angles to the switch-hook, and an adjustable finger carried by said arm to engage and release the switch-hook as the arm is swung toward and from the same, substantially as described.

2. A telephone-receiver support and switch- I JAMES ALEXANDER BROWN.

Witnesses:

ALEX. S. BROWN, JAY BUCHWALTER. 

